Colored chocolate products have gained importance in recent years. This increases the importance of identifying potential natural colorants for chocolate technology. In this study, Nannochloropsis oculata microalgae which were grown by using tubular photobioreactor in two different forms (spray-dried and encapsulated by using a spray dryer and maltodextrin (50%)), were used in white chocolate composition (0.00–0.75 g) as a coloring agent. The color stability (ΔE) values for all sample groups were determined below the visibility level of 3.0 under accelerated shelf life conditions (25 °C/70% RH) for 28 days. The water activity, moisture and ash content, hardness, yield stress, plastic viscosity, and melting properties of white chocolate samples showed no significant differences (P > 0.05) and the other quality characteristics were found to be acceptable. The chlorophyll-a content of white chocolate samples was between 9.60–22.9 μg g⁻¹. It was found that the sensory properties of the samples as appearance, texture, melting in the mouth, and odor were not affected by level of microalgae use (P > 0.05). However, it was noteworthy that there was a decrease in taste and overall acceptability according to usage level of dried and encapsulated microalgae (P < 0.05). As a result, it was determined that spray-drying technique is preferred for use of microalgae in chocolate composition.

近年来，有色巧克力产品变得越来越重要。这增加了为巧克力技术鉴定潜在的天然着色剂的重要性。在这项研究中，微绿球藻这是由两种不同的形式（喷雾干燥并用喷雾干燥器和麦芽糖糊精（50％）包封的），使用光生物反应器的管状生长的微藻，在白巧克力组合物（0.00-0.75克）被用来着色剂。在加速的货架期条件（25°C / 70％RH）下放置28天，确定所有样品组的颜色稳定性（ΔE）值均低于可见度3.0。白巧克力样品的水分活度，水分和灰分含量，硬度，屈服应力，塑性粘度和熔融特性没有显着差异（P  > 0.05），其他质量特性也可以接受。白巧克力样品的叶绿素a含量在9.60-22.9μgg ^-1之间。发现样品的外观，质地，口中融化和气味等感官特性不受微藻使用量的影响（P  > 0.05）。然而，值得注意的是，根据干燥和封装的微藻的使用量，味道和总体可接受性有所下降（P  <0.05）。结果，确定了喷雾干燥技术对于在巧克力组合物中使用微藻是优选的。